Reciprocating bread slicing machine



Aug. 23, w49. H. J. CRINER RECIPROCATING BREAD SLICING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1946 QIN V EN TOR.

Erg-15"# Patented Aug. 23, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Harry' J. CrinenDavenportJowa, assigner ot one half tof` A.` Gr.A Bush, Davenport, Iowa Applicationsepmter z5, 194e, serai No. essere (ci. 14s-:153)

l 12 Claims.

My invention relates to reciprocating, multipleblade bread slicing machines. The objects of my invention are to provide means to speed up the travel of the cutting blades; to increase the distance traveled by the cutting blades in a given time; to balance the cutting blades and the blade carriers to reduce vibration; to simplify the construction and reduce the size of the' machine necessary forA a given capacity and to provide additional means to reduce vibration. Other objects will appear from the' description.

I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which" Figure lis a sectional elevation of my machine on the line I-'I of Figure2;v

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of my machine but with the feed chute. 3 omitted' for vc learness;

Figure 3 is a detail showing the arrangement of the spacing mechanism and split shaft;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional detail looking downward upon theA split shaft, but with part of the shaft broken away;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail of a portion of the split or slotted shaft, with a portion1 of the shaft broken away to show the relative position of the lazy tongs members;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of the driving levers showing one position in full lin-esand their opposite position in dotted lines;

Figure 7 is a detail showing an alternate form in which a magnetic prime mover is shown in place of the electric motor;

Figure. 3l is a detail showingV a steel bearing for the main shaft mounted in a rubber bushing which in turn is mounted in the bearing hub.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

My machine comprises a housing with side frames I and 2 united at the bottom by a plate or bar 5. On the base- 5 a motor 23l or other prime mover is mounted. The upper and? lower blade-carrying shafts 6 and 'I are j-ournaled in suitable bearings in the side frames I and 2 respectively. These shafts 6 and 'Ir have horizontal slots formed therein extending longitudinally of the shafts or the shafts Vmay lbe formedin two pieces suitably united at the endsbut spaced apart through the rest of their length.

In the slots of the lower shaft a lazy tongs comprised of fiat metal bars is slidably mounted and the arms of the lazy tongs extend outward on opposite. sides of the shaft. The arms of the lazy tongs are pivotally united by pivot pins near their ends,. and by pivots at their middle crossing points. Alternatelarms HM of the lazy' tongs- 2 are extended to a somewhat greater length then the intermediate arms 32 and the' ends' o'f' the extended arms have slots- 2`I.I to receive the lower ends of the cutting blades 2| which are secured therein by pivot pins I9.

The middle arms of the lazy tongs may be pivotally secured to the shaft' 'I by apin 2E exi tended into the shaft andE securing the middle arms from movement longitudinallyof the` shaft while leaving them free to turn upon said pivot, or one of the end arms of the lazy tongs may be pivotal-ly united to the shaft andthe remaining arms bele'ft freef'or longitudinal movement along the shaft.

A similar slotted shaft 6 isV journaled in the upper part of' the framejand carries a similar lazy tongs slidable longi-tudinal-ly thereof. The alternate arms i912 of the upper lazy tongs are extended and slotted to carry the .upper ends of' the blades 2l, the lower ends of which are carried bythe bars IllllV of the lower lazy ton-gs; The bars ofthe lazy tongs areV preferably formed of spring steel or otherresilient metal and the extended bars Il LI and [91 have sockets 3f formed therein to receive the pins-I9` and hold the blades 2`I in place.` 4 The length of the 'blades 2| and theY position of the bores therein through which the pins Ife pass, are so proportioned' thatJ the resilient bars or arms o f the lazy't'ongs-willexert a continuous tension thereon of' sufficient force to hold the Blades: tautv and atthe required tension for the most effective work. l g

The lower shaftV I isfitted' with adownwardly extending arm I0I preferably at the middle thereof bywhicli the shaft may be rocked in its bearings 9. The arm I'Ilhas pivotally united thereto one end of a lever 3'by a pivot I2 the other end ci" which is united by apivot If to' a bellcrank lever Idir mounted upon a shaft I 4 the ends of which arey secured in the side fra-mes I and 2 by pressfi't' or other suitable means.

The other end of the bell-crank lever is united by a pivot:l Ito one end of a link IE6 the opposite end' of which is pivotally mounted upon thel crank pin II- carried by a crank I8 mounted upon the shaft of the motor 2`3" or other prime mover.

As thus arranged, each half revolution of the motorshaft and crank pin il will-cause the arm IU'to travel through its complete traversable arc twice; andthe other half'revolution of theV motor shaft will cause the arm to travel through its allowable' arc twice more. Inthis way there will' be two coin-plete reciprocating movementsofthe shaft 1- for each" revolution of the motor shaft of drive in which the arm l is actuated by an electromagnet 3D with pole pieces.. 29 surrounded by coils 28 lwhich may be operated Vby electric current from an ordinary lighting system or from batteries as desired, and are so arrangedthatk contact of the arm l0 with one pole ,will act to reverse the current and cause the arm to be drawn immediately to the other pole in the well known manner utilized for ringing door bells and various other applications.

The size and strength of the magnets may be proportioned to the load and the speed of action desired.

In order to reduce vibration to the least possible point, I prefer. to mount the Yends of Vthe shafts 6 and 7 in steel bushings H as shown in Figure 8, with rubber bushings di surrounding the steel bushings in the bearinghub 3 which may be united to the side frame I surrounding the rubber bushing 8.|. M c c The motor 23 may be mounted upon resilient pads 23.l and when the electromagnet 3E) is used, the supporting plate may be formed of aresilient insulating material.

A chute 3 mounted upon brackets e united to the housing, may be provided to carry the bread tothe slicing blades and is preferablyrinclined downwardly toward the blades so that the action of gravitation will assist in carrying the bread through the blades, but additional feeding means may be used asdesired and I make no claim in this application to any particular form of feeding or discharge apparatus.

In the operation of my apparatus, the blades 2l are secured under tension in the extended bars ISA-49.2 of the lazy tongs by pins i9 in slots 2U. The spacing ofthe blades is adjusted by extendingl or retracting the lazy tongs, and after the lazy tongs are located'in any desired position, they can be locked in place by nuts 24 threaded upon the pins 215.! which are united to the terminal arms of the lazy tongs and can be moved longitudinally of the shaft in the slots 6.2.

The prime mover is then started and the shafts 6 and 'l will rock simultaneously. AThe shafts 6 andk 1, the lazy tongs therein, and the blades, are carefully balanced; and the downward momentum of one set Vof blades moving downwardly, will be counterbalanced by theupward momentum of the other set of blades moving upwards at the same time. f Y l Thus the downward impulse given to each shaft by one set of blades and the arms holding them, will be offset by the upward impulse given to the same shaft by the upward movement of the other set of blades, etc.

Another advantage of my forms of machine is that it can be built in very vcompact form. The entire length of the blades need not be more than six or seven inches to allow sufficient cutting length for all ordinary sizes of bread loaves. At the same time, a high speed of operation may beY maintained which williequal -or exceed the 4 cutting speed of the blades in the largest and heaviest forms of reciprocating machines now in use.

It is obvious that various modifications in the form, size, proportion and materials of my machine may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not limit my claims to the precise lforms shownfin the drawings.

I claim:

1. A bread slicing machine comprising side frames united at the top and bottom, spaced upper and lower shafts journaled in the side frames, longitudinally 'movable parallel lazy tongs assemblies slidably mounted upon said shafts respectively in alinement with the axes thereof and with their bar `members extending laterally on opposite sides thereof, said successive bar members being pivoted at the ends and at the middle crossing points thereof, slotted extensions formed upon the ends of alternate pairs of bar members, cutting blades diagonally mounted in crossed position upon the Yextensions of said lazy tongs bars, and means as described to reciprocate the shafts simultaneously and in opposite directions.

'2. A bread slicing machine as kdescribed in claim l, said upper and lower shafts being formed Iwith horizontal longitudinal slots therein and the lazy tongs assemblies -being slidingly mounted in said slots respectively.

3. A bread slicing machine as described in claim 1, each of said shafts being formed in upper and lower halves spaced apart but united at the ends, and the lazy tongs being slidably mounted in the spaces between the two halves. 4. vA bread slicing machine as described in claim l, the middle members of said lazy tongs assemblies being pivoted to the middle of their respective shafts.

5. A bread slicing machine as described in claim 1, said upper and lower shafts being formed with horizontal longitudinal slots therein and the lazy tongs assemblies being slidingly mounted in said slots respectively, one member of each of said lazy tongs assemblies being pivotally united to its adjacent shaft.

6. A bread slicing machine as described in claim 1, said upper and lower shafts being formed with horizontal longitudinal slots therein and the lazy tongs assemblies being slidingly mounted in said slots respectively, one member of each of said lazy tongs assemblies being pivotally united to its adjacent shaft and the remainder of said assemblies being manually adjustable lengthwise of their shafts.

7. A bread slicing machine as described in claiml, said upper and lower shafts being formed with horizontal longitudinal slots therein and the lazy tongs assemblies being slidingly mounted in said slots respectively, one-member of each lof said lazy tongs assemblies beingppivotally united to its adjacent shaft and the remainder of said assemblies being manually adjustable lengthwise of their shafts, vertical longitudinal slots formed in the upper halves of said shafts, and set screws threaded into bars of said assemblies adjacent said slots and extending upwardly in said slots whereby the lazy tongs may be secured in adjusted position. y

8.V A bread slicing machine comprising side frames united at the top and bottom, spaced upper andr lower shafts journaled in the side frames, parallel lazy tongs assemblies slidably mounted-upon said shafts respectively. in alinement with the axes thereof and with their bar members extending laterally on opposite sides thereof, the successive bar members being pivoted at the ends and the middle crossing points thereof, slotted extensions formed upon the ends of alternate pairs of bar members, opposed series of cutting blades diagonally mounted in crossed position upon the extensions of said lazy tongs bars, a prime mover mounted in the frame, a system of levers arranged to be driven by the prime mover and arranged to rotate the lower shaft reciprocatingly whereby the opposed series of cutting blades will be driven simultaneously in opposite and alternate directions.

9. In a bread slicing machine as described in claim 1, said means comprising an arm rigidly united to the lower shaft, a lever pivotally mounted in the frame having one arm pivoted to the shaft arm and its opposite arm pivotally united to one end of a connecting rod the opposite end or which is pivoted to a crank mounted upon and driven by the shaft of an electric motor or other prime mover.

10. In a bread slicing machine, the combination with side frames united at the top and bottom, of spaced upper and lower shafts journaled in the side frames, parallel lazy tongs assemblies slidably mounted upon said shafts respectively in alinement with the axes thereof and with their bar members extending laterally on opposite sides thereof, the successive bar members being pivoted at the ends and the middle crossing points thereof, slotted extensions formed upon the ends of alternate pairs of bar members, opposed series of cutting blades diagonally mounted in crossed position upon the extensions of said lazy tongs bars, a, prime mover mounted in the frame, a system of levers arranged to be driven by the prime mover and arranged to rotate the lower shaft reciprocatingly whereby the opposed series of cutting blades will be driven simultaneously in opposite and alternate direction.

11. In a bread slicing machine, the combina tion with side frames united at the top and bottom, of spaced upper and lower shafts journaled in the side frames, longitudinally movable parallel lazy tongs assemblies slidably mounted upon said shafts respectively in alinement with the axes thereof and with their bar members eXtend ing laterally on opposite sides thereof, said successive bar members being pivoted at the ends and at the middle crossing points thereof, slotted extensions formed upon the ends o alternate pairs of bar members, cutting blades diagonally mounted in cross position upon the extensions of said lazy tongs bars, and means as described v, to reciprocate the shafts simultaneously and in opposite direction, said means comprising an arm rigidly united to one of said shafts, and an electro-magnet arranged to reciprocate said arm.

12, In a bread slicing machine as described in claim l, the bar members of the lazy tongs being formed of resilient metal.

HARRY J. CRINER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 834,570 Finnigan et al Oct. 30, 1906 1,125,489 Dean Jan. 19, 1915 1,882,732 Ballem Oct. 18, 1932 1,913,047 Criner June 6, 1933 1,948,452 Young Feb. 20, 1934 1,948,622 Littlefield Feb. 27, 1934 2,018,121 Criner Oct. 22, 1935 2,023,362 Walma Deci 3, 1935 2,141,904 Ferenci Dec. 27, 1938 2,219,519 Fabrin Oct. 29, 1940 2,222,299 Parks Nov. 19, 1940 

